McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team faced off against North Central College in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 6, splitting the games. The Titans now hold a record of 14-9 (4-3 CCIW), while North Central stands at 8-12 (3-2 CCIW).

In the first game, Illinois Wesleyan secured a 6-3 victory over North Central. Junior pitcher Dalen Banks from Springfield had a strong performance, keeping the game scoreless until the fifth inning when Illinois Wesleyan managed to score two runs. John Phillip Ferraro initiated the inning with a single, and an error by North Central allowed runners on base for Tommy Willard, who hit an RBI single. Justin Gadomski furthered the lead with another RBI single.

North Central responded with a run in the sixth inning, but Illinois Wesleyan regained their advantage in the seventh. Despite some challenges on the field, Gadomski contributed with another significant hit to push his team ahead 3-1. In the ninth inning, three additional runs were added by Illinois Wesleyan through contributions from Perona and Tyler Woltman.

The Titans finished with 12 hits compared to North Central's nine. Gadomski led his team by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Dalen Banks improved his pitching record to 4-2 after throwing seven innings and striking out seven batters.

In the second game of the day, Illinois Wesleyan took an early lead but eventually fell short in extra innings with a final score of 6-5 in favor of North Central. After gaining momentum in earlier innings thanks to Jack Flagg's four RBIs and Gadomski's continued efforts at bat, IWU struggled to maintain its lead as North Central tied it up in the ninth inning.

Illinois Wesleyan had opportunities but left runners stranded during extra innings before NCC clinched their victory in the bottom of the eleventh.

Jack Flagg was instrumental for IWU with three hits and four RBIs during this match-up. Three pitchers made appearances for Illinois Wesleyan; sophomore Will Davidsmeier pitched for more than five innings and recorded three strikeouts.

Due to expected weather conditions, their next game against North Central originally scheduled for Sunday has been postponed until Monday at Tucci Stadium with first pitch set for 4 p.m.